


King

by BloodyAbattoir



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, I've Chosen to Ignore that Decision, Illusions, Monologue, Not A Fix-It, Not Canon Compliant, Sock Puppets, The Author Has Made a Stupid Decision, as a result
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-02 11:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18809725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyAbattoir/pseuds/BloodyAbattoir
Summary: The people of Alagaesia would never accept a Shade as their leader.





	King

**Author's Note:**

> I'm fucking with the canon plotlines because why not? Partially inspired by the fact that somewhere in the first few chapters of Eragon, when Brom is telling the story of how Galbatorix came to be, he mentions that Galbatorix learned forbidden magic from a Shade. Since we know that Shades don't happen very often, and it is even rarer that they are anything vaguely intelligent/able to survive very long due to their chaotic nature, what are the odds that Galbatorix met TWO separate Shades that were able to act like humans and survive beyond a few days/weeks?
> 
> More importantly, why would not one, but TWO separate entities that are arguably stronger and better equipped than this idiot 'king' agree to serve him or help him out, unless there was something VERY important in it for them? So, logic dictates that there was only one Shade, who we met and probably all loved, and he was a psychotic bitch who wanted to be more than just a pawn.

Eragon lets loose a yell, charging forward. He swings his sword, and the head of the mad king goes flying with a single stroke. Just like that, Galbatorix's reign of terror over the Broddring Empire has ended. The head rolls to a stop, eyes wide open and staring at ceiling. The crown that he wore has rolled off with a metallic noise until it hits a wall with a faint clank. 

 

"Something is wrong." Arya says. 

 

"Huh?" 

 

"This was too easy." She says, her voice tense with worry. She wasn't quite sure what was wrong, but something about this whole scenario rubbed her the wrong way. "Think about it, Eragon. He was the king of this country for decades. He  _knew_ the Varden was seeking to unseat him. He  _waged_ _war_ against us. And yet he leaves himself open to attack like this? No wards? Only a handful of guards for the entire palace? This whole thing seems fishy."

 

"Do you think we're being set up?" the blue Rider finally asked, the reality of the situation sinking in as the elf connects the dots for him. 

 

"Bravo, someone's finally catching on." A voice calls from the shadows, accompanied by slow, sarcastic clapping. 

 

Eragon and Arya exchange a look. That voice was familiar. It had haunted their thoughts by day and poisoned their dreams by night for over a year by now. They wouldn't soon forget it, but logic dictated that it was impossible. Eragon had killed the bastard, stabbed him through the blackened heart in the heat of battle. Surely this was just a fluke of some sort, an illusion, anything else. 

 

He glided out of the shadows, a wicked grin on his face. The Riders instinctively raised their swords. 

 

"Oh,  _do_ put those silly things down, we're being civil here." Durza chided them. 

 

Eragon and Arya exchanged a look, lowering their swords slightly, but otherwise making no move to sheath them. 

 

"Well, I _suppose_ that'll do for now." the Shade sighed, the tone in his voice clearly stating that he thought this was beneath him, that they were being childish. 

 

"But you're supposed to be  _dead_! I  _killed_ you!" Eragon yelled, panic creeping into his voice. The Shade was supposed to be dead! They'd all seen him explode into a black cloud of shrieking spirits, nearly taking out half of the cavern with him. 

 

"Did you  _really_ think you could kill me so easily, foolish boy?" The Shade laughs at this. It's an ugly sound that chills both Riders to the very soul. 

 

"Then how-"

 

"How  _what?_ How did I come back from the dead? How did I survive? How did I take over this great country of yours? Do be specific now, and  _don't_ waste my time any more than you already have!"

 

This time, Arya was the one to speak up, finally having gotten over her shock at seeing her former captor and tormentor still alive. "I don't understand any of this." She says through gritted teeth. 

 

"Well then I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning, if you're to have even the _slightest_ hope of absorbing even  _some_ of what I'm about to tell you." He says, mostly to himself, before directing his next comment at Eragon. "And you, ignorant whelp, do try to keep up. Oh, and save your inane comments and redundant questions for the end, will you? I'm on a bit of a tight schedule here."

 

Eragon can only nod to this, dumbfounded. Arya, meanwhile, scoffs at him. A tight schedule? Just who did he think he was here? More importantly, what did he have to get to that was so important as to cut himself short on gloating and giving a monologue? She barely holds back from rolling her eyes

 

"Let's go back to the middle of the day that starts it all, shall we? Centuries ago, before your miserable Varden was ever thought about, and before you, Princess, were even a spark in your father's eye, I was a mere mortal child. This land was nowhere near as stable as you'd think. Sure, you had the Dragon Riders, for all the help they were, which, truth be told, wasn't very much at all. They took care of the big cities, sure, but what about everywhere else?" 

 

Eragon raised an eyebrow at him. The Shade merely rolled his eyes. Of course the ignorant farmboy wouldn't know the least bit about the history of this 'great' continent if it wasn't spoonfed and edited for him by the elves. 

 

"Oh, that's right! The Riders couldn't be bothered to police this land properly. And you know what? Where do you think the vermin that they chased out of the cities would go? To the plains and the desert of course! Where there was nothing to stop them from their criminal ways! They formed roving groups of bandits hellbent on raiding and pillaging and sacking their way from one end of the continent to the other. Small tribes barely stood a chance against them, and if you were exiled? You had not a snowball's chance in hell of surviving long enough to make it within range of a Riders patrol." 

 

Eragon felt a cold shiver roll down his spine at this last comment, especially since he'd been privy to some of the Shade's memories when he 'killed' him. He knew what came next. The Shade, too, seemed to understand this, as a smirk crossed his thin lips, and his voice filled with glee as he said, "You have some idea what happens next, don't you, farm boy? Or perhaps I should just make things easier on myself and show you."

 

With a wave of one clawed hand, Eragon and Arya were sucked into the void of the Shade's memories, and the real world ceased to exist. 

**Author's Note:**

> Get a Shade giving on of those standard evil villain monologues? Totally in character AND fuck yes. Sorry, not sorry. I needed more of this spooky bastard, especially when he's being a dramabitch.
> 
> Also, I'm like 90% sure that I've accidentally made him quote My Chemical Romance here at least a few times. Sorry, not sorry. Oh, and I personally have referenced Alesana a few times here.


End file.
